The contract theory holds that when a person buys a product or service, he or she is entering into a contract with the manufacturer. The manufacturer (and by implication the employee representing the manufacturer) has four main obligations:

To make sure the product or service complies with the contract in several respects: it should do what its advertisements say it can, it should operate a certain period of time before needing service or maintenance, and it should be at least as safe as the product information states and the advertising suggests.

To disclose all pertinent information about the product or service, so that the potential consumer can make an informed decision on whether to purchase it.

To avoid misrepresenting the product or service.

To avoid coercion.

Critics of the contract theory argue that the typical consumer cannot understand the product as well as the manufacturer does, and that consumer ignorance invalidates the contract.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

Compliance results through a power relationship between the participants in the communications process. That is, a receiver complies with persuasive efforts of the source because the source has the power, legitimate or otherwise, to administrator rewards or punishments.

Because the powerful source controls rewards and punishments, he or she can often induce compliance to his or her advocated position. However, compliance is relatively superficial in the sense that a compliant individual does what he or she is forced to do and does not necessarily adopt the complied-to position as a matter of personal desire or preference.

Sales representatives sometimes possesses a degree of power over buyers, especially in a seller’s market where demand exceeds supply and buyers are dependent on their vendors for supplies of raw materials, parts, or merchandise. Purchasing personnel may feel that if they do not comply with a sales representative’s requests, their orders may be delayed or cut off completely.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

Levi Strauss & Company developed the following policy to guide the firm through the maze of international business and maintain its high standard of ethical integrity. Levi Strauss & Co., has a heritage of conducting business in a manner that reflects its values. Because the company sources in many countries with diverse cultures, it must take special care in selecting business partners and countries whose practices are not incompatible with its values. Otherwise, its sourcing decisions have the potential of undermining this heritage, damaging the image of its brands and threatening its commercial success.

Business Partner Terms of Engagement

Terms of Engagement address issues that are substantially controllable by our individual business partners.

We have defined business partners as contractors and subcontractors who manufacture or finish our products and suppliers who provide material (including fabric, sundries, chemicals and/or stones) utilized in the manufacturing and finishing of our products.

i. Environmental Requirements: We will only do business with partners who share our commitment to the environment and who conduct their business in a way that is consistent with Levi Strauss & Co.’s Environmental Philosophy and Guiding Principles.

ii. Ethical Standards: We will seek to identify and utilize business partners who aspire as individuals and in the conduct of all their businesses to a set of ethical standards not incompatible with our own.

iii. Legal Requirements: we expect our business partners to be law abiding as individuals and to comply with legal requirements relevant to the conduct of all their businesses.

v. Community Involvement: We will favor business partners who share our commitment to contribute to the betterment of community conditions.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

Multinational corporations present real challenges to a nation’s sovereignty and independence. The national sovereignty principle holds that a nation is a sovereign state whose laws, customs, and regulations must be respected. It means that a national government has the right, power, and authority to create laws, rules, and regulations regarding business conducted within its borders.

The second principle that shapes business-government relations in most countries is the business legitimacy principle. This principle holds that a company’s behavior is legitimate if it complies with the laws of the nation and responds to the expectations of its stakeholders. In theory, the principles of national sovereignty and business legitimacy are not in conflict.

As multinational corporations reach across national borders, their global operations may exceed the regulatory influence of national governments. This has raised concerns about the emergence of stateless corporation. These corporations have facilities, shareholders, and customers everywhere. Therefore, they seem to owe loyalty to no single nation and are able to organize and recognize around the globe. There are economic and political advantages to being, or appearing to be, stateless.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

No business operates in a vacuum or under a glass dome. New businesses are subject to the pressures and requirements of society’s legal and regulatory system. If you need a trademark, a company brand, or a patent, or if you’re thinking of becoming incorporated, you will definitely need legal help. Many other situations require the help of a lawyer too.

Likewise, you’ll be coping with government regulations, many of which were written with larger businesses in mind are applied to SMEs anyway. Disposing off hazardous wastes, for example, may be difficult for small companies, which typically lack their own water-treatment facilities. Similarly, small businesses may have problems complying with disabilities laws, designed to ensure that disabled consumers receive the same level of services as other customers. Thus SMEs may be required to make costly modifications to their facilities or prove that doing so would pose an economic hardship.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

Environmental regulations, such as the laws governing clean air, water, and land establish minimum legal standards that businesses must meet. Most companies try to comply with these regulations, if only to avoid litigation, fines, and, in the most extreme cases criminal penalties. But many firms are now voluntarily moving beyond compliance to improve environmental performance in all areas of their operations. Researchers have sometimes referred to the process of moving toward more proactive environmental management as the greening of management. Green management can improve a company’s strategic competitiveness.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

Financial Executives International (FEI) recommends that all senior financial professionals adhere to a strong ethical code of conduct, sign it annually, and deliver it to their company’s board of directors. Fr many years, members of FEI have signed such a code, in an effort to commit to its principles. Senior financial officers hold an important and elevated role in corporate governance. As members of the various management teams, they are uniquely capable and empowered to ensure that all stakeholders’ interests are appropriately balanced, protected, and preserved.

FEI’s code provides principles to which members are expected to adhere to and to advocate. It embodies rules regarding individual and peer responsibilities, as well as, responsibilities to employers, the public, and other stakeholders. Violations of EFI’s Code of Ethics may subject the member to ensure, suspension or expulsion under procedural rules adopted by FEI’s Board of Directors. The code states that all members of FEI will:

Act with honesty and integrity, avoiding actual or apparent conflicts of interest in personal and professional relationships.

Provide constituents with information that is accurate, complete, objective, relevant, timely, and understandable.

Comply with applicable rules and regulations of federal, state, provincial, and local governments, and other appropriate private and public regulatory agencies.

Act in good faith, responsibly, with due care, competence and diligence, without misrepresenting material facts or allowing one’s independent judgment to be substantiated.

Respect the confidentiality of information acquired in the course of one’s work except when authorized or otherwise legally obligated to disclose. Confidential information acquired in the course of one’s work will not be used for personal advantage.

Share knowledge and maintain skills important and relevant to constituents’ needs.

Proactively promote ethical behavior as a responsible partner among peers, in the work environment and the community.

Achieve responsible use of and control over all assets and resources employed or entrusted.

Report known or suspected violations of this Code in accordance with the FE Rules of Procedure.

Be accountable for adhering to the Code.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.